Isaac Pirolo

9.3

Apparently Tasting Note Tuesday
is now a thing (thanks for the heads up @Greg Ballington). That said, I’m still an advocate of everyday of the week, but I’ll participate nonetheless.

A wine such as this requires serious research. Fortunately Ian D’Agata’s notes in Vinous are indispensable: “Feudo Montoni’s greatest wine is the Nero d’Avola Vrucara, a single vineyard wine made from roughly 80-100 year-old vines that grow at 500 meters above sea level. Most of the vines are of pre-phylloxera origin, and are therefore ungrafted. The vineyard’s name derives from the Sicilian word vruca, a local herb that grows in the vineyards and exudes aromas of menthol and incense. The Vrucara vineyard is especially beautiful, a field of gnarly, very thick trunked and low-lying bush vines hugging the dark mainly clay soils (with a little loam and sand). Vinification is... very traditional... At its best, Vrucara is a benchmark Nero d’Avola, eschewing the vanilla notes of more modern interpretations of Nero d’Avolas, while offering multilayered violet, blueberry, macerated red cherries in alcohol, tar and spicy aromas and flavors, with a characteristic hint of eucalyptus and incense.”

The 2012 doesn’t veer off course. Benefits from an hour open, but a few would be ideal. A mashup of spiced cherry and blackberry is hard to miss, but the floral, earthen, and leather entanglement is the attraction here and clearly terroir driven. There’s a noticeable clay pot and smoked meat component which beautifully emphasizes how old world this wine really is. The oak treatment is evident, but the wine is also able to withstand a fair amount and still proudly carry its old world card. — 8 years ago

Liz Glamazon

9.5

Holy crap. Bold, complex, really good 2008. In a magnum, maybe that helped this wine age so well over the years. Knockout wine. — 10 years ago

Christopher Welch

10

The Talking Bull — 10 years ago

Ravi Bhatia

9.0

Nice and smooth. Goes well with any type of food and not too expensive either. — 10 years ago

Sarah Wolf

8.9

So much charred wood and smoke! Liquid bbq! Not exactly subtle, but I could down a bottle of this... — 11 years ago

Diana Eng

9.1

Naturally made, bush vine, no grafting. Very interesting and unexpected expression of Chenin. Slightly more tropical, but still restrained, not as nutty and very savory. Not quite as acidic as French Chenin. Lovely wine. — 11 years ago

with Howard and EatSommThings

Manuel de Leon

8.9

Smooth and very good tasting wine — 12 years ago

Mike MacDonald

9.6

Very good but maybe not $25 good. Other top rated wine as good. — 13 years ago

with Lisa

Barry Jahansetan

9.6

Outstanding Pino! — 13 years ago

Max Kates

9.0

Delicious zin — 8 years ago

Jessica Thomas

9.0

Meritage Reserve 2014- wine club pick up 12/17. strong tobacco and licorice flavor. — 9 years ago

with Jolinda

Julie DeGraaf

9.0

Very good! — 9 years ago

Jan-Philip Wassenaar

9.8

Awesome wine, great nose, never gets boring, great with food but also evening glass — 10 years ago

Mike Grehan

9.3

Great drop. — 10 years ago

Patrick Dolan

8.9

A great go to wine for us. Aromas and taste of strawberry cherry and smoke. Great finish. — 10 years ago

Adam Lubin

9.0

Very smooth with a fruity flavor — 11 years ago

Dirk Pitt.

9.0

Yep a #barossa Grenache. Easy drinking. Had a lightness and elegance to it. Good fruit structure and balance. The Tuesday night pizza wine. #aussiewine — 12 years ago

with Winehouse, Taylor and 1 other

Jørn Weiby

9.5

Meget god. Ikke helt egnet til mat — 12 years ago

Nick Werbeck

9.6

Wow. Loved it! Not trying to sound like drama queen, haha — 13 years ago

Phillip Fox

9.2

Tasty, fruity (grapefruit especially), a bit buttery. What we drank with sommer during the KU-k-state game (2013). Great with colliery welsh cheddar! — 14 years ago

Lori Honer

8.9

Interesting and really delicious. Hints of spice and cherry — 9 years ago

Jessica Thomas

10

My favorite wine at Bull Run — 9 years ago

Scott Rowe

9.1

GOLD
Much respect, a delicious wine. — 9 years ago

Kathryn Sabol

9.5

Pineapple, guava paste, sunshine, beaches. — 10 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

All the typical Margaret River Cabernet descriptors - Herbaceous, tomato bush, leafy. Initially a vanilla oak component which lessened. Medium weight with medium tannins. A touch more mid palate fruit for a gold medal. — 10 years ago

Tim Siegenbeek van Heukelom

10

Toast with butter on the nose, with some green grass in the glass. Beautiful elegant body, refreshing taste. — 10 years ago

with Sterre

Patrick Bean

9.5

Dry, but full bodied. It would likely pair well with a hardy stew. Winemaker's tasting notes: "This rich and savory red emulates flavors of blackberry, black cherry and black plum notes with hints of vanilla and spice. Dry and tannic due to thick skins, this wine finishes with a long smoky wood finish. Aging potential 5-10 years." — 11 years ago

Christian Damiano

9.6

Fantastic for the price . — 12 years ago

AI Lara

8.9

Yum. Good price. — 12 years ago

Matt Young

9.2

Very cool label, great wine. Two Hands makes good stuff. — 13 years ago